For the complete reminder from Metro of what’s changing this time around (including downtown bus-tunnel hours), read on:

Starting Saturday, May 30, King County Metro Transit will open a new
transit center in Burien, expand operating hours in the Downtown Seattle
Transit Tunnel, close a park-and-ride lot in the Northgate area, and
revise some bus routes and schedules to update service.

Metro adjusts its routes and scheduling three times a year in February,
June and September to improve service and keep up with the changing
needs of transit passengers. All of the changes are detailed in new blue
Metro timetables and a special Rider Alert brochure. Look for them on
buses in the racks near the front of the coach. The brochures and
timetables are also available at Metro information racks, libraries, and
work sites.

New schedule information is available in Metro’s online Trip Planner at
www.kingcounty.gov/tripplanner.

Be sure to enter a travel date of May 30 or later to access the new
information. The revised route schedules will be available on Metro
Online on Friday, May 29 at www.kingcounty.gov/metro. Or, call Metro Rider Information at (206)
553-3000.

Highlights of the upcoming service change include:

Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel
Starting Saturday, May 30, the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT)
will be open from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. weekdays and Saturday, and from 6
a.m. to midnight on Sunday for all current tunnel bus routes. When the
DSTT is closed, tunnel bus routes will operate on Second, Third, Fourth
or Fifth avenues in downtown Seattle.

The new hours are in preparation for the start-up of Link light rail
service on July 18. Light rail will serve all tunnel stations except
Convention Place.

So this week, the tunnel closes at 7 p.m. on Friday night, May 29, and
reopens with its new operating hours on Saturday morning, May 30, at 5
a.m.

Burien Transit Center
The $12.5 million Burien Transit Center features six bus bays for
passenger boarding, including one dedicated to paratransit service. All
of the boarding areas are now located off-street, enhancing safety for
both transit customers and motorists in downtown Burien.

The transit center, located at 209 S.W. 148th St., has covered waiting
areas with benches and windscreens. The adjacent park-and-ride lot has
parking for 340 vehicles and five charging stations for electric
vehicles. The transit center has lighting and 24/7 monitored security.
It is served by Metro routes 120, 121, 122, 123, 131, 132, 133, 134,
139, 140, 180, and Sound Transit Express Route 560.

King County Metro Transit’s project team worked cooperatively with the
City of Burien to integrate the transit center into the city’s downtown
revitalization plans. The transit center is close to civic amenities,
such as Burien Town Square – home of the new city hall, King County
Library, and mixed-use retail and residential development.

Northgate Park-and-Ride on 5th Avenue NE
The Northgate Park-and-Ride on Fifth Avenue Northeast is closing on May
30. The city of Seattle recently bought that lot from King County to
build a new community park. Also at the end of May, Metro will lose the
63 spaces in the Target garage on Fifth Avenue.

But there are 350 new park-and-ride spaces leased by Metro east of the
Northgate Transit Center, along with more than 1,100 other spaces near
the transit center. The newest park-and-ride spaces are located in the
garage of the new Thornton Place development at Northeast 103rd Street
and Third Avenue Northeast in Seattle.

Schedule and route revisions
* The 18 Metro and Sound Transit bus routes currently using the DSTT
will now operate in the tunnel 20 hours a day Monday through Saturday,
and 18 hours on Sunday. At times when the tunnel is closed, the routes
in service will operate on Second, Third, Fourth or Fifth avenues in
downtown Seattle;

* Two new Route 918 trips will provide connections with a new northbound
Sounder train arriving at Kent Station at 6:34 a.m. and a new southbound
train arriving at 3:34 p.m. Check the new blue timetable or Metro Online
for other schedule adjustments;

* Route 66 to downtown Seattle and Route 67 to the University District
will begin and end at the Northgate Transit Center and will no longer
serve bus stops on 5th Ave Northeast north of Northeast 100th Street;

* Route 210 on the Eastside will serve the Lakemont neighborhood via
Lakemont Boulevard and 164th Ave Southeast. It will no longer operate on
Newport Way between Lakemont Boulevard and 164th Ave Southeast;

* The 12 routes serving the Burien Transit Center have new boarding
locations in downtown Burien at the bays in the transit center. See the
map of the Burien Transit Center on Metro Online or the Rider Alert for
more information;

* There are also bus stop adjustments at the South Sammamish
Park-and-Ride, Bellevue Transit Center, Houghton Park-and-Ride, and
Aurora Village Transit Center. See Metro Online or the Rider Alert for
more information.

Beyond bus service, Metro’s Rideshare Services can help provide
resources for carpooling, vanpooling or vansharing. Carpooling and
vanpooling match people traveling to common destinations. VanShare helps
those who need to make a connection to or from bus service. You can
VanShare from home and connect to your bus, or use VanShare from the bus
stop or park-and-ride lot to complete a trip to work. For more
information about these services, visit:
http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/van-car/van-car.html.

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